Uprooted Palestinians are at the heart of the conflict in the M.E Palestinians uprooted by force of arms. Yet faced immense difficulties have survived, kept alive their history and culture, passed keys of family homes in occupied Palestine from one generation to the next.

The main international backers of Syria's opposition gather in Istanbul on Saturday with the militant rebels hoping Western and Arab countries will step up their support, including with arms.

The opposition is pressing its eleven foreign allies -- including the United States, European nations and Arab countries -- to supply arms to the rebels, but analysts said it was unlikely Saturday's meeting will mark a major breakthrough.

Speaking to US lawmakers this week, US Secretary of
State John Kerry said the talks would be an effort to "get everybody on the same page."

"We're trying to proceed carefully, to make sure that we're not contributing to a worse mess, but that we're actually finding a constructive path forward," Kerry claimed.

A senior US official said late Friday that Kerry would propose boosting Washington's non-lethal aid to the rebels at the Istanbul meeting.

The aid would be for "moderate opposition groups, including the Syrian Opposition Coalition, local councils, civil society organizations and the Supreme Military Council," senior State Department official told reporters.

US media reports have already suggested Washington was preparing to provide battlefield gear to the militant opposition groups such as body armor, vehicles and night-vision goggles.

Many in the West have raised concerns about arming the rebels, fearing weapons could fall into the hands of mist groups like the Al-Nusra Front, which this month pledged allegiance to Al-Qaeda.
Britain and France have been pushing for a European Union arms embargo to be allowed to expire by the end of May, but have appeared more wary since the Al-Qaeda pledge.

Supporters of arms supplies have said the rise of extremist groups like Al-Nusra Front is only a stronger argument for providing weapons to more moderate voices in the Syrian opposition.

Among opposition figures expected to attend Istanbul talks are Ahmed Moaz al-Khatib, the outgoing head of the main opposition Syrian National Coalition, and Ghassan Hitto, who last month was picked as prime minister of an opposition interim government.

Analysts said much of the talk would focus on getting the transitional government up and running in areas of Syria under rebel control, mainly in the north.

"The truth is they (the interim government) are not a factor on the ground and they won't have any credibility until they are," Salman Shaikh, the director of the Brookings Doha Center told Agence France Presse.

However, Michel Stephens, a Qatar-based researcher for the RUSI think tank, said he doubted there would be any movement on meeting the rebels' demands for arms.

"That debate is still well and truly stuck in the mud," he said.

Many have accused the Friends of Syria of dithering while the country burns, with Shaikh dubbing the group "The Coalition of the Unwilling."

For his part, the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said this week the group was making a "negative contribution" by undermining efforts at political dialogue.

Source: Agencies

20-04-2013 - 12:18 Last updated 20-04-2013 - 12:18

River toSeaUprooted PalestinianThe views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this Blog!

Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has reaffirmed Iran’s resolve to stand united with the Venezuelan nation for the achievement of justice and prosperity.

Ahmadinejad arrived in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, on Friday to take part in the inauguration ceremony of the Latin American country’s new President Nicolas Maduro.
Speaking to reporters upon his arrival at the airport, Ahmadinejad pointed to the pressures by the hegemonic powers and the enemies of humanity against the world’s independent nations, adding, “The Iranian nation stands by the Venezuelan nation in the path of progress and justice.”

Ahmadinejad congratulated the Venezuelan nation for holding a successful presidential election and hailed Maduro as “a dear brother who has been trusted by the great Venezuelan nation.”
Maduro was declared the winner of Venezuela's presidential election on Sunday. He won 50.7 percent of the vote against 49.1 percent for opposition candidate Henrique Capriles, a difference of 235,000 ballots.

“The great country of Venezuela is on the threshold of a glorious path and it undertakes a great and historic mission,” the Iranian chief executive pointed out.

On March 8, Maduro became Venezuela’s acting president, following the death of late President Hugo Chavez, who lost a two-year-long battle with cancer on March 5.

Maduro has promised to continue the socialist policies of the former leader.

“Firstly, the Venezuelan nation must make rapid progress and build an advanced, prosperous and powerful country, and, on the other hand, it should keep the flag of justice and freedom hoisted across Latin America,” he said.

Source: Press TV

20-04-2013 - 13:33 Last updated 20-04-2013 - 13:33

River toSeaUprooted PalestinianThe views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this Blog!

How do you like that combination: "World view: Islam; Personal priority: Career and money".

Which clearly tells us that this young man's "Islam" is a micron thin. He calls himself Muslim, but that is only a label. His *real* ethos is one of a typical post-modern teen, centered on worldly goods.

I bet you his older brother is the real crazy one, this was just a typical follower.

Yesterday I watched an interesting report by the "Vice" reporters entitled "Killer Kids" which shows how the Taliban use 6-12 year old kids to carry bombs to specific locations and how then they remotely blow them up.

Again and again and again and again, I can only repeat what has become my deeply held and sincere belief: there is no possible dialog or co-existence with these crazed thugs, nor does it make sense to shed crocodile tears on the "innocent civilians" supporting or even harboring them. The *only* way to deal with these guys is to offer them the "Putin choice": "either stop and renounce your ways, or be prepared to be exterminated".

Please notice that I said "renounce your ways". I have no problem at all with somebody wanting independence for his/her region, nor do I have a problem with any religious belief system (except Wahabism and Rabbinical Judaism). But the kind of crazed thuggery and blind terror these Wahabi/Taliban/al-Qaeda/etc. types engage in cannot be dealt with in any other way.

And yet even this bombing will do nothing to change the way the USA deals with this issue: they will make outraged speeches about these bad bad bad terrorists in Boston, and then give standing ovations to the very exact same terrorists when they blow up (not pressure cookers, but entire cars!) in downtown Damascus.

So you will forgive me if when I see the bombings in Boston, I think of the many bombings in Syria, and I sincerely wish the Syrian Army all the success possible in ridding the planet from all those who commit such acts.

In Russia many analysts have said: "Assad is fighting for us, because every Jihadi he kills in Syria is one less Jihadi we will have to kill in Russia".

I wish the folks in Boston (and the rest of the USA) also understood that simple truth.

Friday, 19 April 2013

"... On the bright side, Syria has
apparently learned from our mistakes and is completely distrustful of the
Brotherhood-dominated Free Syrian Army, because of what the Brotherhood have
done to us. Instead, the anti-Bashar Syrian secularists are now supporting the
Al-Qaeda dominated Gabha Al-Nusra as the sane and fluffy alternative.

It should be noted that one of the chief supporters of Gabha Al-Nusra is Hazem
Abu Ismail, who sends his Hazemoon fighters to fight there, and has announced
that he personally would like nothing more than to go and make jihad in Syria, but he can’t go with
Egypt this unstable, and the moment Egypt is stable again, he will. By then, hopefully, the Abu Ismail militia in Syria will
be a real force and a major player, and when Bashar falls I won’t be
surprised to hear that they took over the city of Homs and made Abu Ismail its
Emir. Maybe then all the Hazemoon people will move there. Let a man
dream...."

Defense Intelligence Agency Director Army Lieutenant General Michael Flynn said, in a testimony prepared for delivery later today to the Senate Armed Services Committee, that Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad’s government “maintains the military advantage -- particularly in firepower and air superiority,” and his inner circle “appears to be largely cohesive”.

In a report published on Bloomberg news agency Thursday, Flynn added that “no opposition group has been able to unite the diverse groups behind a strategy for replacing the regime.”

Moreover, Flynn indicated that “Syria’s arsenal of conventional missiles is mobile and can reach much of Israel and large portions of Iraq, Jordan and Turkey from sites well within the country.”
He added that “Russia had sold Syria a supersonic anti-ship cruise missile called the Yakhont, a weapon with a range of 300 kilometers that poses a major threat to naval operations, particularly in the eastern Mediterranean.”

Source: Agencies

19-04-2013 - 12:44 Last updated 19-04-2013 - 12:44

River toSeaUprooted PalestinianThe views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this Blog!

Protesters shouted "your race is a crime" as they marched through the streets of Shia districts. Graffiti on nearby walls read, “No F1. Don’t race on our blood.” Bahrain's main opposition bloc has called for peaceful pro-democracy demonstrations to be stepped up before the race.

"There are many protests against Formula 1 in Bahrain. They have blocked the roads which lead to the F1, as well as roads close to the American base and the bridge between the airport and the capital Manama," Acting Vice President of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, Yousif Almuhafdah, told RT news website.

The February 14 Revolution Youth Coalition, a cyber group that organizes protesters, boasted on its Twitter account that people took to the streets with "a steel will."

The group added that people were "imposing a different rhythm in the street, in the first round of Volcanos of Flames" - referring to the name they have given to a week of demonstrations against the F1 race.

The country’s state news agency said late Wednesday that authorities arrested four people for allegedly stealing and burning a car near a roundabout. An additional person was detained over an accusation that he blocked a main road and caused damage to another person’s car.

Human rights activists have claimed dozens of anti-government protesters have been arrested prior to the race, according to Amnesty International.

The organization has accused authorities of using the race as a platform to “show progress, with claims that the human rights situation has improved, whilst stepping up repression in order to ensure nothing disturbs their public image.”

“We are seeing nothing but crackdowns and token gestures to clean up the country’s image,” Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Program deputy director, Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, said in a Wednesday statement.

Human Rights Watch said last week that police had arrested 20 opposition activists in towns near the F1 circuit.

The organization said the arrests were made with the intention of preventing a repeat of the 2012 F1 protests. Last year’s race went ahead against a backdrop of burning tires and riot police firing teargas at protesters throwing petrol bombs in the villages.

The 2011 Bahrain race was canceled when protests were crushed and at least 35 people were killed.
At least 82 people have been killed and thousands arrested since the unrest began. Many opposition figures have been detained on the allegation of planning to topple the government.